Re: Safety Glasses Regulations
 

One further comment on safety glasses: While a nod to fashion is OK, remember the real purpose, which is protection for your eyes. While almost all safety glasses* will do that, you have to wear them to get that protection! Seems kind of obvious, but if your safety glasses are not comfortable, or if they distort your vision (and cause an eye-strain headache), you won't want to wear them.

The point is: Pick glasses that are ANSI Approved, and that are both comfortable and with low-distortion lenses.

How many times have we seen participants wearing their forehead protectors, complaining of poor fit and vision?

Don

Re: Safety Glasses Regulations
 

Keep in mind that OSHA and ANSI are specific to the USA. There are MANY other standards for safety glasses that are officially recognized, including CSA Z94.3

Fortunately there is sufficient similarity between national standards that many glasses meet multiple standards, and so long as the glasses appear to provide reasonable protection and meet the FRC rules on tint vs. shade and mirroring, I have yet to see anyone upset that the glasses were certified by a foreign regulatory body.

Jason

Re: Safety Glasses Regulations
 

Every year our pit crew gets these:
http://www.safetycompany.com/aosafet...es/p_1819.html

All others use these if they feel like buying them- http://www.doityourself.com/invt/3479912

Re: Safety Glasses Regulations
 

Compared to most, I've got a pretty big head. I found a pair of safety glasses at Northern Tool for about $3 (see them here, or here, or here) that fit me well--they flex to keep the glasses from pinching my head, which makes them infinitely more comfortable for wearing over extended periods (read: most of the final week before ship, regionals, etc.).

At IRI I was talking with Greg Needel, who happens to wear a pair of DeWalt safety glasses for some strange reason (it's almost like he works for them!). It turns out that mine are a knockoff of the DeWalt glasses; both pairs fit my head great.

I've worn smaller safety glasses, and they hurt after a day of coaching. Of course, I don't want to wind up like Carol, so I grin and bear it. Sometimes, students I've worked with have been less disciplined--therefore, I take no chances with going for uncomfortable ones.

Moral of the story:

-Make sure the glasses are ANSI approved.
-Make sure the glasses are legal under the 2009 FRC rules.
-Make sure you can wear them for twelve hours at a time--some members of your team will at a regional.

Re: Safety Glasses Regulations
 

We once had an incident in the shop where a few carbide teeth came off a saw blade. One struck the student's safety goggles and punched a hole partway through. If he had not been wearing them, it would have struck his eye right about in the center of his iris. :eek:

Re: Safety Glasses Regulations
 

If he had been wearing them on top of his head, the result would have been the same.

For the last two seasons, we've had volunteers assigned just to watch for people without safety glasses in the pits. At the end of Thursday, the most common report I've gotten from those volunteers is, "I've told at least a hundred people to wear their safety glasses over their eyes, not on top of their heads."

Seems obvious, but we have to keep repeating the warnings. Replacement eyes are not available at the spare parts table.

Re: Safety Glasses Regulations
 

On my team we've always gone by the "You must be able to see your eyes" rule and it seems to work for us. We try to get the clearest glasses possible to stay within the rules. I always go to home depot or lowes and go through their safety glasses section and try a few pair and find one that I like to wear and that look cool so I don't mind wearing them.

Re: Safety Glasses Regulations
 

The local Harbor Freight store sells a pair for about $5 that are extremely comfortable for me; they also come with a cord so they stay around your neck when you try to put them down.

Re: Safety Glasses Regulations
 

Some colors such as Lime green are available at charmand hammer.com.

I traded my MOE pair last year for a rolling thunder gray pair... I did worry a little about the "legality" but I didn't have a visibility issue, at all.

Re: Safety Glasses Regulations
 

Don't expect that mirrored or heavy tint glasses will be allowed.

Last years instructions at regionals where "You have to be able to see their eyes." If you expect changes, I would expect the rules to tighten rather than loosen.